What do children need?

Being a child at heart myself plus being a toymaker got me thinking about what every child SHOULD have. Starting with the basics- a safe home, food, clothing, school and whatever learning tools are needed for school (be it home school, public, private…) and of course, love and respect. But beyond that…

My list would start with:
Building toy like blocks or legos.
At least one good doll or action figure, preferably with lots of accessories.
A bike.
At least one outfit that makes him or her feel fabulous.
Books.
Drawing paper, pencils, and paints.
An animal to be friends with. (Not nececessarily their pet or even a pet, but an animal companion/aquaintance of some sort.)
Birthday cake.
The chance to stay up ridiculously late once in a while.
A box to keep small treasures in.

I think every child should get to eat cake for breakfast at least once. LOL!

I love my children dearly. They are my ALL. The past year has been a real roller coaster ride and yet they have kept me on track. During the past month, I have come to realize what truly fabulous kids they are. Of course, I always knew deep down . . . but, the past few weeks have been very enlightening as I have learned so much about their peers and all the crap they are into. My kids are far from perfect but they have good hearts full of love, understanding, and compassion for others. They have a love for the Lord and a desire to follow in HIS path. The know right from wrong and don’t think there is a “gray” area. So, perfect or not I think I’ll keep them. And, since it’s been a couple of years since I let them have cake for breakfast I think I’ll surprise them this weekend.

I think a good thing would be parents who are willing to kick them out of the house once in awhile, take their phones away, and let them see what other ways they can find to entertain themselves OUTDOORS & away from electronic crack. As has been mentioned in at least one book recently*, kids just don’t eat enough dirt anymore!